I have a 1994 Dodge Ram B250 Van 5.2L MFI 8cyl. 144K miles on odometer and for the most part, in decent shape.
I've been having intermittent problems with the fuel pump not kicking on for a years now. Sometimes it does sometimes it doesn't. I only drive it maybe once a month and I disconnect the battery when not in use. The fuel pump was replaced in 2011 and it's been pretty dependable since then until just recently. If I put a jumper wire in the fuel relay connector, I can start the engine. The relay itself looks good, I took it out of the housing and watched it when someone turned the key. It does a couple really quick clicks and disengages. If I manually push the contact together, the fuel pump runs. My multi-meter says I have 12 volts on both of the wires that would actuate the relay, which explains why it's not engaging. I'm guessing the ECC is disabling the fuel pump but I don't know why. Is the ECC going bad? is there a sensor that is causing the ECC to disable the fuel pump? do I have a short? or a bad connection? Ever since I got the van it's had some performance issues and some electrical issues. The fuel mixture is too rich I think. If I push the accelerator to hard it will stall and sometimes backfire. There are some holes rusted in the exhaust system, maybe the oxygen sensor was causing this? But that's a whole other issue to be addressed after I get it to run. There's always been something drawing power when its off, that's why I simply disconnect the battery when I'm done driving it. I guess my biggest question would be: does anyone know if a wire connector or faulty sensor could cause this? I want to be able to eliminate the cheap possibilities before I try to replace the computer.
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Hint .. Relay 'GROUND' circuit .. Gotta have a ground > when the KEY IS TURNED ON! ..... Now there is supposed to be TWO terminals with power to the relay! .. It works a bit differently than you think it should.
Thank you for responding so quickly. I took a closer look at the connector wires going to both the ASD and Fuel relays.
The Red wire connecting to 30 on both the Fuel and ASD relay connectors goes to the battery and always has voltage.
On the opposite side of the relays you have (FUEL RELAY) Dark green with a black stripe going to the fuel pump and on the (ASD RELAY) dark green with an orange strip going to... I have no idea where it goes.
On the wire's that control whether or not the relays turn on or not you have BLUE that connects to 86 of both relays. These share continuity (electrically the same wire) and supplies voltage to both relays only when the key is turned to the run/start position.
The other wires that ground the relays also share continuity (electrically the same wire). They are the Dark Blue with a yellow stripe and connect to 85 of both relays.
The mistake I made earlier was I checked voltage on the fuel pump relay connector while the ASD relay was still plugged in.
The voltage I was getting on Dark Blue/Yellow stripe wire was voltage that was traveling through the coil of the ASD relay.
After taking both relays out, I don't get any voltage on Dark Blue Yellow. Which makes sense.
What is frustrating now, is all of a sudden the damn thing cranks and is working fine. It's so hard to trouble shoot when the symptoms keep changing. But it's working now.
Here is what I suspect:
Maybe one of the two relays has some dirt or corrosion on the contacts, and sometimes doesn't make a connection good connection.
I'm going to lightly clean the contacts with a Contact Burnisher blade and see if it stays fixed.
If it starts having this problem again, I'll take a closer look at how the Dark Blue/Yellow stripe wire is grounded.
Thanks so much for the help.
~Guy With a Mustache.
Thank you for responding so quickly. I took a closer look at the connector wires going to both the ASD and Fuel relays. The Red wire connecting to 30 on both the Fuel and ASD relay connectors goes to the battery and always has voltage. On the opposite side of the relays you have (FUEL RELAY) Dark green with a black stripe going to the fuel pump and on the (ASD RELAY) dark green with an orange strip going to... I have no idea where it goes. On the wire's that control whether or not the relays turn on or not you have BLUE that connects to 86 of both relays. These share continuity (electrically the same wire) and supplies voltage to both relays only when the key is turned to the run/start position. The other wires that ground the relays also share continuity (electrically the same wire). They are the Dark Blue with a yellow stripe and connect to 85 of both relays. The mistake I made earlier was I checked voltage on the fuel pump relay connector while the ASD relay was still plugged in. The voltage I was getting on Dark Blue/Yellow stripe wire was voltage that was traveling through the coil of the ASD relay. After taking both relays out, I don't get any voltage on Dark Blue Yellow. Which makes sense. What is frustrating now, is all of a sudden the damn thing cranks and is working fine. It's so hard to trouble shoot when the symptoms keep changing. But it's working now. Here is what I suspect: Maybe one of the two relays has some dirt or corrosion on the contacts, and sometimes doesn't make a connection good connection. I'm going to lightly clean the contacts with a Contact Burnisher blade and see if it stays fixed. If it starts having this problem again, I'll take a closer look at how the Dark Blue/Yellow stripe wire is grounded. Thanks so much for the help. ~Guy With a Mustache.
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